DescriptionMales are 25-28 mm while females are 26-30 mm in total length. Greenish, with distinct yellowish dorsolateral bands which extend onto the tibia. The dorsolateral stripes are more distinct in females. The gular gland is slightly heart-shaped.

Similar species: In H. betsileo, H. "variabilis" and H. andrakata the dorsolateral bands do not extend to the thighs.

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special BehaviorsCall: A series of unharmonious short notes (note type 2). Four analyzed calls consisted of 17-24 notes and had a duration of 2800-4000 ms, with intervals between calls of 2000 ms. Note duration is 16-26 ms, duration of intervals between notes is 142-167 ms. Note repetition rate is 6/s. Frequency ranges from 2.5 to 4 kHz. Sometimes a second note type (type 1) could be heard (duration 400-600 ms, consisting of about 40 pulses), and rarely this note type 1 was immediately followed by a note series of notes of type 2, resulting in a call that is similar to those of Heterixalus madagascariensis and H. boettgeri.
Calls from Ampijoroa (ca. 22 ï¿½C) have a note duration of 102-137 ms, a note repetition rate of 5/s, a frequency between 1.5 to 8.0 kHz (dominant frequency about 3.5 kHz).

Freshly laid eggs and calling males were found in January in rice fields and swamps. They were sitting at night at the edge on the bottom or on vegetation 5-10 cm above water. Yellowish eggs were found in a rice field in January. Tadpoles reared from these eggs were similar to those of other species of Heterixalus. Young tadpoles (stage 25) had a body length of 7.5-10 mm and a total length 17.5-25 mm (fig. 196). Tooth formula was 1//1+1/2.

Breeding takes place in permanent and temporary still waters, including rice fields (Nussbaum et al. 2008).

Trends and ThreatsIt occurs in Parc National de Isalo and Parc National d'Ankarafantsika, and possibly in other protected areas (Nussbaum et al. 2008).

CommentsTaken with permission from Glaw and Vences (2007).

References

Glaw, F., and Vences, M. (2007). Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar. Third Edition. Vences and Glaw Verlag, Köln.

Written by Miguel Vences and Frank Glaw (m.vences AT tu-bs.de), Assistant Professor and Curator of Vertebrates at the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics in the Zoological Museum at the University of AmsterdaFirst submitted 2002-02-01Edited by Henry Zhu (2010-07-18)